Fort Langley’s Pride Crosswalk: A Village’s Tangle of Symbolism
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Vocal.Media
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/10/16
Fort Langley, known as the “birthplace of British Columbia,” hides an undercurrent of control beneath its postcard charm. A satirical account of a self-styled “Midnight Dad Brigade” exposes tensions over image, power, and moral authority in the village. Harassment and intimidation against dissenters underscore how fragile civility can be in tightly knit communities. Parallel to this, the rainbow crosswalk at Mary and Glover—installed in 2017 and repeatedly vandalized—has become a flashpoint for identity and belonging. The Township’s 2025 attempt to replace it with “heritage” art, later withdrawn after backlash, reflects the continuing struggle between heritage and inclusion.
It’s always the little things, even the tiny ones.
I grew up in Fort Langley, British Columbia, Canada. It is among the more famous villages in British Columbia and, by some historical claims, the founding place of the province. Fort Langley is called the “birthplace of B.C.” Why? Governor James Douglas proclaimed the Colony of British Columbia there on November 19, 1858.
In my home village, there are, as with many small towns, controversies, cliques, interests, and intrigue. There have been a lot. Plenty of hate for atheists among some.
A little while ago a group of dads formed a fake vigilante group to handle an apparently homeless alcohol misusing thief in town. Broadly, the real reason was inconvenience of a drunk thief wandering town bothering some people and businesses.
It was under the guise of compassion. They colluded with the police and got some more thin positive media coverage: Photo-ops with crocs, shirts, and some beers afterwards. Then a woman speaking out against their midnight raids and faux compassion was harassed by some in community.
I corresponded with that woman. She was very grateful for a satire piece at the time. I wrote a satirical article about the Midnight Dad Brigade. They harassed my work, my professional associations, and my academic mentor’s institute over it. They tried to get me fired, disbarred, and disfellowed, respectively. None happened, but they tried with all the Good Lord’s Might, though.
When people write about thin-skinned entitlement, it’s not a lot of them to the Left’s stereotyping, but it fits the image of these (adult) poster children. They cynically presented a deliberate misreading of satire as news. “There’s your problem right there,” being elders who are liars. What is the expected response from a younger man?
In another instance, a prior Christian man with an explicit hatred of atheists stalked me to my home, on the bus, kept tabs on me, repeatedly asking where I was going, apparently amongst other Christian community members. Again, what is the expected response from a younger man?
This is intimidation, harassment, and stalking, and doxxing. All of them my elders. I have and will continue to show more Christian charity and compassion than these cowards ever have to me by not mentioning their names in print again, because it’s too embarrassing. If they are married, then it’s a gift to their families.
I am not alone in this experience or sentiment, as per the woman harangued in the midst of a timid dissenting community opinion.
Regardless, these symbolic combats continue. One over the last several years has centered around something as simple as a crosswalk. On the crossroads of Mary & Glover (center of town business core), a rainbow crosswalk was placed down in 2017. Within days, it was marked by vehicle burnouts.
There were province-wide patterns of rainbow-crosswalk vandalization noted in 2018 in multiple B.C. communities, e.g., Courtenay, Salmon Arm.
A ghost walk (local historical superstition-history tour) in 2023 noted a truck doing extended burnouts on the crosswalk. Because why not? There was an RCMP investigation and local coverage of that 2023 vandalism.
In 2025, Township of Langley Councillor Tim Baillie—apparently out of nowhere—floated the idea of replacing the Fort Langley Pride crosswalk with “heritage” art, while moving the rainbow crosswalk to somewhere like Township Hall. He pulled the motion from the agenda amid backlash.
On the same day, the Langley Pride Society issued a statement. They were disappointed by the proposal and asked for consultation. They directed people to a survey on the crosswalk and its future.
The British Columbia General Employees’ Union issued a statement. They urged the council to keep focus on hate-motivated vandalism.
Local news identified the late-added motion, its withdrawal, and partial and limited community mobilization. It was quietly scrapped. As of July 2025 the crosswalk remained at Mary & Glover, apparently, there will be consultation with the LPS before any change.
It may flare up, once more.
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